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Elk in burns

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Elk in burns

Postby mandrroofing » 06 14, 2020 •  [Post 1]

Hey everyone.This September ill be in a unit were there's a fairly new burn [FIRE]. My question is ,is there a sweet spot when it comes to how old a burn is and elk using it ?thanks

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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Swede » 06 14, 2020 •  [Post 2]

Burns differ in intensity and in how complete the vegetation is consumed. If you have a sizable burn area the elk will love it as soon as new grasses comes back in some abundance. Hunters easily see the elk in these open areas, so they flock to them even before the season opens. They can't leave them alone and will even try to call them. If the area is too open, the elk usually leave when any pressure comes. I never try to hunt there, but quite a few people do.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Elkhunttoo » 06 14, 2020 •  [Post 3]

My answer is basically the same as Swedes. I have been on late cow hunts years ago where the forest service had done some planned burns in the previous years. There weren’t a lot of hunters in this area and still a lot of timber and there were a lot of elk hanging in the burned areas.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Lefty » 06 14, 2020 •  [Post 4]

I dont have a lot of experience in burns,.. however some elk seem to get stupid in them.
Still think they are hiding in the thick of things ?

Whatever it is they seem to drop their guard a bit and a few IQ points
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Indian Summer » 06 15, 2020 •  [Post 5]

I’ve hunted old burns, new burns, and even burns that were still burning. Just hunt the edges. If you can find patches of timber in a burn that didn’t burn what does that tell you? It means there’s moisture and there will be elk. I love hunting around burns.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Swede » 06 16, 2020 •  [Post 6]

Joe, can you tell us how you hunt edges?

To a great extent I hunt edges regardless of burns. If I am spot and stalk hunting here on the west side of Oregon I may go our on an old landing and start viewing. I concentrate on the edges quite a bit. On the drier east side I hunt country where there are a lot of edges. Hunting edges for me varies, but I generally often follow game trails in the timber. The edges are a hundred or so yards away depending on the size of the timber patch and the openings.
I have read where guys say they look for "dark timber". I am not sure what they mean, but I do not hunt the interior of large closed canopy timber patches. They can be as void of game as the desert. I find most trails and bedding spots fairly near the edges. The elk have cover about and they have shade there.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Tigger » 06 16, 2020 •  [Post 7]

Swede, you are correct....and incorrect on dark timber. Some does not provide suitable habitat and does not contain elk and other areas of dark timber can only be called a honey hole due to all of the elk habitation. Wallows, saddles, vegetation, and downfall all contribute to that. The elk in my avatar was a dark timber inhabitant.

One thing I struggle with is spending too much time in dark timber that does not contain elk because it looks "elky". I don't move fast enough in those areas wasting valuable time. After spending time in those areas and then finding elk sign, it can sometimes be hard to slow wayyyy down. Toot on your horn and see what answers. Stop. Eat lunch. change your mentality.

The burn that I am the most familiar with burned hot and is now barely growing back 7 years later. It is nearly devoid of wildlife.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Swede » 06 16, 2020 •  [Post 8]

Tigger, we may be seeing different images in our mind when we write of "dark timber". The elk in your avatar does not cause me to think of a dark timber bull. There is too much undergrowth. When I think of dark timber, I see a forest where the upper and mid canopy close out the forest floor to direct sunlight, and there is little or no undergrowth. I have found deer and elk under dark timber during a storm and they will go in there when it is very cold as it is a little warmer than in the open.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Tigger » 06 16, 2020 •  [Post 9]

That was where he ran to and died. It was fairly open underneath, although still timbered. He came from something similar to what you describe. Can be very thick as well with trees and brush, but little ground vegetation. Many times you can, however, find little pockets inside of the dark timber that have plants.
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Re: Elk in burns

Postby Swede » 06 16, 2020 •  [Post 10]

I do not consider a place as dark timber if the sun shines on you while you are walking around. Brush is not timber, and very little brush will be found under dark timber. If that was the case, where RJ and Joe hunt would be about 98% dark timber. From what I saw there is very little dark timber around that old burn area.
In dark timber you rarely see the sun at midday, and you walk around in ambient light. If you walk out of dark timber after it appears to be getting late, it appears you just gained another hour of day. An elk would not need to move to stay out of the direct sunlight. In dark timber you cannot see off through the trees and see openings where the sunlight shines down. On the ground you see funguses and dead branches/logs.
You can find trails through dark timber. You can also find bedding areas on occasion and water, but it is not a foraging area. For that you go to the burn and hunt the edge to catch them moving in or out.
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